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# Abbott Gets Approval for HeartMate 3 Surgical Technique
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/abbott-gets-approval-for-heartmate-3-surgical-technique/
- Published: 2020-01-07T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T15:57:33.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Devices, #legacy-id-D5145780

FDA has approved Abbott’s new alternative surgical technique for its HeartMate 3 heart pump that will allow more advanced heart failure patients to avoid open heart surgery. Historically, heart pumps have been implanted through open heart surgery, the company says. With approval for an alternative surgical technique, Abbott’s HeartMate 3 heart pump can now be implanted via lateral thoracotomy — a surgical approach where an incision is made between the ribs to access the heart. “Physicians believe that for many patients this technique has advantages over open heart surgery because it can result in less bleeding and a shorter recovery time for patients,” the company says.

Approval was based on data from two studies — the ELEVATE study: a multi-center, voluntary, observational registry collecting post-marketing data, and the LAT Feasibility study: a single arm, prospective, multicenter study. These showed lower bleeding, infections and arrhythmias in the group implanted via the less-invasive surgical approach than those who underwent open heart surgery, it says.